Upgrade CPU + Mobo (from AMD 2800+)

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tonyhughes

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#9784 12-Oct-2006 17:11

I am thinking about upgrading my system.

I have:

Athlon 2800+
2 x 512MB DDR400
ASRock all in one mobo
A PCI gfx card (256mb) <--- retaining this

I do a lot of web browsing, listening to music, converting and editing video, working with photos etc etc.

My needs arent high, but i would like a faster CPU and more RAM. Rather than stuff more ram onto this board (which would involve discards of the existing), i am thinking a Core2 Duo + mobo + 2GB DDR2 would be better?

Thoughts?

freitasm

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#48498 12-Oct-2006 18:47

Interesting you don't want to keep the motherboard. If possible I would install a SATA HDD on this PC, upgrade the RAM to 2GB (ideally 4GB) and that would do it for a cheaper start. I run a Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edion with Microsoft Exchange Server on a AMD 2100XP+, 3GB RAM and 60GB HDD.

Unless of course you want to do some heavy stuff - but it doesn't look like.

tonyhughes

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#48503 12-Oct-2006 19:54

freitasm: Interesting you don't want to keep the motherboard. If possible I would install a SATA HDD on this PC, upgrade the RAM to 2GB (ideally 4GB) and that would do it for a cheaper start. I run a Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edion with Microsoft Exchange Server on a AMD 2100XP+, 3GB RAM and 60GB HDD.

Unless of course you want to do some heavy stuff - but it doesn't look like.

Mobo only has 2 dimm slots.

So even 2GB of ram will cost me $300 odd dollars..

Will SATA HDD make good performance gain? I dont think my mobo has SATA - and i have no spare PCI slots

freitasm

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#48504 12-Oct-2006 19:59

Well, in this case you need a new motherboard, nothing much we can do... But yes, if possible go for a SATA drive. And at least 2GB RAM. And lots of USB 2.0 ports.

geekiegeek

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#48505 12-Oct-2006 20:11

core 2 duo is a good choice for video editing. You should notice quite a big jump in performance as with this CPU you will also be going to faster RAM and SATA HDD.

LandRover

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#49226 21-Oct-2006 17:40

My new Intel Core Duo E6600 2.4 GHz CPU is running very well. I got it from XP Computers with Motherboard and RAM, and by the time I threw in a video card it all came to $1225. It was well worth the investment but would have cost more like $2500 to buy ready made up from a retail vendor. It was first time I'd installed a motherboard myself but it was pretty straight-forward once I read the motherboard manual properly!!